Overexpression of PRMT5 promotes tumor cell growth and is associated with poor disease prognosis in epithelial ovarian cancer.

PRMT5 has been reported to be involved in the processes of tumor progression at various steps. The aim of this study was to examine the role of PRMT5 in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). In this study, PRMT5 and Ki-67 expression were examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in cohorts of normal, benign, and cancerous ovarian tissues. PRMT5 overexpression was observed in 83.1% (98/118) of EOCs, and it was significantly associated with serous type, poor differentiation, advanced tumor stage, lymph node invasion, presence of residual tumor, and high expression of Ki-67 (p<0.05, respectively). Moreover, overexpression of PRMT5 was an independent prognostic marker for decreased overall survival and progression-free survival in univariate survival analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis. In ovarian cancer cell lines A2780 and SKOV3, PRMT5 knockdown by siRNA inhibited cell growth/proliferation and induced apoptosis via upregulation of E2F-1. These results suggest that overexpression of PRMT5 correlates with an aggressive malignant phenotype and may constitute a novel prognostic factor for EOC. Thus, PRMT5 may represent a clinically effective new target for therapy of ovarian cancer.